His great-great-grandfather was Littleton Waller Tazewell, for whom a downtown street is named.

The 19th-century Tazewell enjoyed a dazzling political career, serving as governor, U.S. senator, member of the U.S. House and as a state delegate. Tazewell declined several other opportunities in Washington, reportedly because he didn't want to be away from Norfolk any longer.

Unlike his forebear, Brad Tazewell - his formal name is E. Bradford Tazewell Jr. - has no taste for politics. He likes to design buildings.

But he shares the governor's allegiance to Norfolk and has made his own mark on the city. Of the nearly 500 buildings he estimates he's had a hand in designing, Tazewell figures 95 percent were constructed in the region. Plenty are hard to miss.

At 85, Tazewell, vice president of the Norfolk architectural firm Clark Nexsen, is still designing. He tried retirement a decade ago. It didn't suit him.

His life has been graced by good fortune and illustrious connections. His stories offer a genial walk through the region's history and a reminder of the power of happenstance - how Norfolk got Scope and how his firm succeeded a world-famous Italian architect on the project. How a simple idea for Chrysler Hall brought another artistic windfall to the city.

Left unspoken, in Tazewell's modest and gracious way, are his own architectural talents. Of his current work, he said, "I'm very fortunate that Clark Nexsen will put up with an old guy in the twilight of his career."

Brad Tazewell grew up on Pembroke Avenue in Norfolk's Ghent neighborhood. In retrospect, his career choice was predictable: His father was an architect, and young Brad spent summers working for him as a carpenter's assistant.

But before Tazewell could study architecture, he fought in World War II. His service offered an early example of his remarkable luck and binding ties to Virginia.

Tazewell was radio operator with the Army's 10th Mountain Division in Italy. He stayed close to the company commandant, which meant he often was in the line of fire.

In April 1945, Tazewell was shot in the left arm and hip. "I was really, really lucky," he said. As it turned out, his surgeon was from Richmond.

After returning home, Tazewell enrolled at the University of Virginia, graduating in 1949 with a bachelor's degree in architecture. He received a master's from the University of Pennsylvania two years later.

Then came a summer "travel scholarship," allowing him to examine the architectural highlights - and have some fun - in 17 European countries. He met Le Corbusier, the renowned French architect, but the conversation was limited: "Unfortunately, he didn't speak much English, and I didn't speak much French."

He was shepherded through England by Lady Astor, the first female member of the British House of Commons. She was a Virginian from Danville - and a friend of Tazewell's mother. That connection allowed Tazewell, an avid golfer, to enter the British Amateur tournament. "I got to the fourth round," he said.

When Tazewell returned to Norfolk, he joined the firm of Oliver & Smith. A year and a half later, in 1954, he launched Williams & Tazewell with his old U.Va. friend Jimmy Williams.

"In those days," Tazewell said, "if you had a drawing board, some tracing paper, a few pencils and a little knowledge, you could open a firm."

They started small, working on porches and church projects.

"Often, we would get paid in Baptist church bonds instead of money," he said, "and they were always good."

They landed their biggest project in the mid-'60s. How it came to pass involved the 1960 Olympics, Pat Robertson's father and President Lyndon Johnson.

City officials, Tazewell recalled, saw the Rome Olympics on TV and were captivated by two domed "sports palaces." They thought: Why not here? But they needed political help.

They petitioned U.S. Sen. A. Willis Robertson, who saw an opportunity in 1964. While campaigning, Johnson asked Robertson if he'd support federal funding for a multimillion-dollar cultural center in Colorado. Of course, Robertson said, "but don't you think we should have one in Virginia?" Johnson couldn't say no.

Pier Luigi Nervi, the Italian architect who designed the Olympic sites, was commissioned. He wanted to re-create the dome - which delighted the city's leaders - but issues arose.

"The old man didn't speak any English," Tazewell said. "They didn't have any insurance, and they really didn't understand what was going to go on in that facility." Italy, he said, had little experience with hockey or circuses.

So the city sought another architect. "There was not any Internet back then," Tazewell said. "Communications were pretty limited to your area. For whatever reason, we were selected."

It was "a huge deal for us," he recalled. 'A project like that came along once in a lifetime."

Scope - short for "kaleidoscope" - opened in November 1971 with seating for more than 10,000. At the time, it was the second-largest public complex in the state, behind only the Pentagon. It occupied 85,000 square feet and cost $28.5 million.

The dome and two dozen flying buttresses were Nervi's ideas. Tazewell's firm "did everything else," he said, "with lots of help from various consultants."

And what does he think of it now? "I look at it with considerable pride occasionally. Most of the time, I don't notice it."

Norfolk's business leaders have more than noticed Tazewell's work.

"He's just a heck of a nice guy and modest in talking about his accomplishments," said Harvey Lindsay Jr., a real estate executive and longtime friend, "but he's a very talented architect. He's just one of those people who really wants to do the best in everything that he tries. He's made some great contributions to our city and to the downtown area."

Chrysler Hall, which seats 2,500, was part of the Scope project. Nervi had wanted it to resemble the horseshoe-shaped Milan Opera House. That, Tazewell said delicately, "was not compatible" with local taste and custom.

The building was notable for another reason: The decision to name it after Walter Chrysler Jr. helped persuade him to move his art collection to Norfolk in what is now the Chrysler Museum of Art, Tazewell said. Initially, there was talk of hanging some pieces in the Chrysler Hall lobby, "but the city insurance people nixed the idea."

The list of projects goes on: Norfolk Academy. Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach. At least 10 structures at Old Dominion, including the baseball stadium and administration building. The Norfolk Yacht and Country Club.

Tazewell described his leanings as "very budget-conscious, clean and simple." His firm, he said, was "committed to contemporary architecture," though usually nothing too showy.

Norfolk Southern, however, wanted its 21-story headquarters to be "cutting edge, so we decided on an all-glass building," with the first few floors "marble-sheathed."

One thing Tazewell learned a while back: "The client is always right, in case you forget."

Williams & Tazewell started with two architects and a part-time secretary. It grew to a staff of 70, including 40 architects.

But "as you get more and more successful, it becomes less and less fun," Tazewell said. "You run faster and faster and hire more and more people and go faster and faster and add more jobs. I didn't want to do that anymore."

In 1996, the firm merged with the TAF Group, and Tazewell settled into a business-development role, scouting for new contracts. Six years later, he retired.

"I stayed home for a couple of weeks," he said, "and I decided I didn't really want to do that."

So he joined Clark Nexsen as vice president for business development.

He's kept his hand in design, including the renovation and addition of luxury boxes at ODU's Foreman Field.

"It's intellectually challenging and it's fun," he said. "I don't have to deal with the difficult aspects of the business anymore."

Tazewell still enjoys life outside the office. He and his wife, Mary Lou, just returned from a cruise to Alaska. They're regulars at their 11 grandchildren's sporting events. And Tazewell, who lives adjacent to Princess Anne Country Club in Virginia Beach, golfs several times a week.

He's so good that another friend, Norfolk businessman Joshua Darden Jr., has stopped playing with him. Tazewell may be modest, Darden said, "but he's a very competitive person."

Any plans to retire again?

"The sands of time are irrevocable," Tazewell said. "The most important thing is good health. As long as I can enjoy that, I don't have any plans to retire. But on the other hand, who knows?"

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